ACLU of Arkansas Urges Communities to Reject Flock Surveillance Systems

We are encouraged to see local leaders across Arkansas listening to their communities and recognizing the serious risks posed by Flock’s surveillance network. Whether communities are opposing these systems before they are installed or ending existing partnerships, this is the kind of thoughtful leadership needed to protect Arkansans’ privacy and constitutional rights.

Driving a car should not subject anyone to pervasive government surveillance. Flock cameras do not simply capture isolated images. Taken together, they can create a detailed map of a person’s life — revealing visits to doctors, houses of worship, protests, political gatherings and more. This information can be widely shared and has been used by federal immigration authorities and other agencies without warrants.

Everyone has the right to move freely, associate with others and exercise their constitutional freedoms without being constantly tracked. The expansive data infrastructure that makes mass surveillance possible also demands transparency and public scrutiny.

Arkansas communities are right to ask hard questions: Who collects this data? How is it used? How long is it retained? Who can access it?

The safest data is data that is never collected. We urge leaders across Arkansas to follow the example of communities taking action to reject these invasive surveillance systems.